


Daysleeper

by neversaydie



Series: cock it and pull it [8]
Category: King Falls AM (Podcast)
Genre: Anxiety Disorder, F/M, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Panic Attacks, Post episode 68, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, ben is awk, consequences of the void, emily is competent, jack is a lil shit, sammy is stubborn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-27
Updated: 2018-02-27
Packaged: 2019-03-24 20:42:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13819053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neversaydie/pseuds/neversaydie
Summary: Ben catches the unnatural hitch in his friend's chest again out of the corner of his eye and nope, he's not going to let him hide in the guest room and work himself up again.Now he knows what the problem is, Ben intends to approach this problem like the producer he is andproducesome positive results.That sounds semi-terrible in his head… so he decides not to say it out loud.[in which Sammy and Jack are having a terrible, no good, very bad week, but Ben and Emily are on the case.]





	Daysleeper

"Hey, Emily?" Ben leans over the back of the couch, calling into the kitchen where Emily is busy making popcorn (he's not longer allowed to use the microwave… for explosion related reasons). He's wrapped up in pyjama pants and a hoodie which is possibly hers (they wear a similar size, much to their friends' amusement, although his are rarely pink), sprawled on the couch with the title screen to _Donnie Darko_ queued up and ready to go.

They're not exactly _together_ together, but they're also not _not_ together… which Ben feels obnoxious even thinking in his own head. Anyway, it works.

"Is it okay if Sammy and Jack come over?"  
  
"Sure," she comes to lean against the kitchen doorway, muffled pops sounding behind her as she wrestles her curly hair into a ponytail, and Ben tries to contain the way his stomach leaps at the sight of her just doing everyday things… because he's just gone as all hell for her. "It's early for the show, are they okay?"  
  
"I can't tell," he admits, scrubbing a hand over his face (briefly considering - and rejecting - the idea of shaving) before he texts Sammy back. He's not long awake, having crashed out at Emily's after breakfast this morning, and if anything has happened in the world since then he isn't aware of it. "Sammy was kinda spacey last night, and he sounds kinda weird now… but he is kinda weird, so."  
  
"Hm," Emily hums to herself quietly, brows creasing in concern behind her glasses. "I'll make some tea."  
  
"That's adorable," Ben calls after her, ducking the dishtowel aimed at his head with a grin.  
  
It's only a few hours before they'd be heading to the station anyway, so Ben figures it's no big deal for the guys to come over early. Jack and Emily often have sleepovers when Ben and Sammy are on the air (initially because Jack was having a hard time adjusting, and since then simply because they've become close friends), and the four have slipped into a comfortable routine of double-date breakfasts at Rose's when time and tiredness allows.  
  
As soon as Jack and Sammy arrive, it becomes clear that this isn't one of those nights.  
  
"I'm sorry to do this," is the first thing Sammy blurts out as soon as Ben opens the door. His friend looks exhausted but wired, tension thrumming through his body where it's pulled tight as piano wire, and Ben's not entirely sure he's slept since they said goodbye this morning.  
  
"They're your _friends_ , you can talk to them," Jack doesn't look much better than his boyfriend, although he hustles Sammy inside with the kind of care which suggests he's the one with his hand on the rudder right now. "Hi Ben, Em."  
  
"Hi guys," Emily takes one look at them both and frowns, because she was definitely right about something being off. "What's going on?"  
  
"It's nothing, we're just-"  
  
"Sammy is having a terrible, no good, very bad day, and he needs some-" Jack cuts him off, going to explain further before he falters, eyes glazing over until he blinks heavily and just about comes out of the absence before it can start. Ben half holds his hands up reflexively, although Jack would probably knock him over if he had to catch him since he's slightly vertically challenged. "C-Can I lie down, Em?"  
  
"Of course. Here," she takes his arm and steers him towards her guest room in a practiced motion, shooting a pointed glance at Ben over her shoulder as they go.  
  
"Man," Ben sees Sammy's hands twitch, like he wants to go after Jack, and realises his friend is shaking - a fine tremor running through his limbs like pure adrenaline. "What's going on?"  
  
"He's been… the last couple days…" Sammy shakes his head, seemingly lost for words. Ben doesn't know what to make of it, so tries to give the guy space to collect himself before he speaks… but the rest of the words don't come.  
  
"What's been happening? With Jack?" He prompts, but Sammy just shakes his head again, seemingly lost. It looks like a more extreme version of how spaced out he was at the station yesterday - that is, aside from the shallow, quick breaths Ben notices ticking through his chest.  
  
Are all his friends getting replaced by pod people one by one? Is that what's happening?  
  
"Emily?" He hears her padding back down the hall with relief, feeling like a weenie when his voice comes out a little higher pitched than he meant it to out of concern. But come on, if _Sammy_ has been possessed by something then who's to say he isn't next? He doesn't want to know what would happen if a whole lot of demon tried to fit into his little body. "I don't know what's..."  
  
Emily takes in the scene and purses her lips in concern, before shepherding Sammy to the couch and sitting down with him. Ben just watches things unfold from a distance, still not sure what the hell is going on as Sammy seems to pull himself together a little and clasps his hands in front of him, knuckles white in an effort to keep them still.  
  
"I'm okay. I… It's just been a hard few days," he forces out eventually, voice still strained like he can't quite catch his breath even as he attempts to keep it level. "The absences have been really bad, and every time he… I'm scared he won't…"  
  
Sammy gives up and drops his head, pressing the heels of his palms into his eyes like he can block the world out. Emily puts one small hand on his shoulder, gentle but firm, and Ben takes the initiative and plants himself in one of the chairs opposite so he's not standing there awkwardly like a dick in the breeze.

He's suddenly very aware of the hot pink hoodie he's wearing… not that Sammy is in much of a position to notice it.  
  
"This is so embarrassing," Sammy mutters after a second of gathering his wits, sounding a little more like himself with the self-deprecating grunt. Enough that Ben stops worrying he's been possessed by some kind of entity, at least.  
  
"You know Jack and I talk, right?" Emily points out, gently, and Sammy makes a wounded sound in his throat and raises his head without looking at either of them. He's all over the place, as far as Ben can tell, torn between acting like everything is totally fine and being unable to. So… typical Sammy. "You can tell us if you need a break."  
  
"I don't need a break, I just need my stupid fucking head to…" he clasps his hands again, this time with one squeezing the other so hard it looks like it could bruise. "I can't stop picturing him being gone again. Every time he goes out of his head… I'm afraid he's not gonna come back. And this week it's like he's fading out, and I- I can't…I can't keep him safe and…"

"Dude, stop it," Ben realises he's way too far away from his buddy and comes to sit on the other side of Sammy on the couch, carefully grabbing his wrist and pulling his hand away before he can hurt himself. "He's not going anywhere, okay? We're working on it. Just try not to think about-"

"I can't _not think about_ shit. My fucking brain won't let me," Sammy snaps, suddenly, before forcing himself back into the box and folding his arms, curling in away from his friends on either side like he hates himself for saying that. "God… dammit."

"Sammy, it's okay. We get it," Emily promises before sharing a glance with Ben… who patently does _not_ get it. She sighs through her nose and gingerly touches Sammy's arm again, hand relaxing when he doesn't flinch away as she explains the situation to Ben. "He has an anxiety… problem."

"I don't- do I not get to tell anyone things _myself_ these days?" It's half mock-offence, which could be an attempt at humour or to stamp down actual anger, it's not clear. "I'm gonna kill Jack, what did he say?"

"He just said you had some-"

"Oh _that_? Dude, I knew _that_ ," Ben shakes his head in disbelief when he processes what Emily said, and Sammy looks at him with a start, blinking in surprise. "You could've just said you were having a hard time, I could've done the show by myself last night."

Sammy looks bewildered, like he'd never even considered it. Of course he hadn't, Ben thinks. Idiot.

"I don't need any kind of special help," instantly defensive, as they could have predicted, some of the tension actually leaves Sammy's shoulders despite his surprise. Does he really think Ben doesn't know what he's like?

Sometimes, Ben worries that the _who is Sammy Stevens_ thing cut deeper for Sammy than he knows. There's nothing he can do about it now, but at times like this he regrets it horribly, even more so than usual.

"How is avoiding a panic attack special help?!" Ben gestures wildly with exasperation, as usual, and even that seems to convince Sammy that they're returning to some normality. "I sit across from you five nights a week man, I already knew you got… jittery, or whatever. You only had to text me, I know you keep your biz private. You'd do it for me, dude."

"I… I'm sorry. I'm not good at… y'know, asking for help," he looks sheepish about it, which is a step up from so close to panic he might snap. They'll take that as a win.

"Which is why Jack dragged you over here," Ben can't fully hide his smile, because he appreciates a little strong-arming for a good cause. "I thought your text didn't sound like you."

"He texted you? That little shit," Sammy laughs weakly, tucking the hair that's come loose from its bun behind his ear with a slightly steadier hand now some of the adrenaline is finally starting to abate. "Maybe… Maybe we've been worrying about each other too much."

"No shit," satisfied the immediate crisis is averted, Emily pats Sammy on the leg and pushes herself up off the couch with her usual no-nonsense immediacy. "Now, Jack is napping, and we're going to watch a movie. Which one do you want to do?"

Ben catches the unnatural hitch in his friend's chest again out of the corner of his eye and nope, he's not going to let him hide in the guest room and work himself up again. Now he knows what the problem is, Ben intends to approach this problem like the producer he is and _produce_ some positive results.

That sounds semi-terrible in his head… so he decides not to say it out loud.

" _We_ are gonna watch the movie," he slings an arm around Sammy's broad shoulders and yanks him into a half-hug, which inspires a genuine laugh. "Because if you think my commentary is bad, you haven't even scratched the surface of this dude's."

"Are… Are you wearing a pink hoodie?" Sammy only seems to notice once his face is shoved into it, and Ben lets himself be drawn into their usual bickering as Emily starts the movie and Sammy begins to breathe again.

He's not himself, sure, but it's a start.

When it's time to head up the mountain, Sammy is passed out with his head on the arm of the couch, curled up around a pillow and completely dead to the world. Jack has reemerged and is in the kitchen, and Ben slings a blanket over his co-host on his way out to the sound of _Hey Jude_ hummed softly over the gurgle of the coffee pot.

"Are you gonna be okay hosting on your own?" Emily lingers at the door with him, now wearing the hoodie Ben sacrificed in favour of sporting something less lurid in public. It's not too cold, but there's a bite in the air and Ben stays close to the warmth of home for a few moments more.

"Yeah, it'll be fine. Chet'll probably hang around for the first hour if I offer him a few bucks for the House of Ass geriatric strippers retirement fund," he's only partially joking, satisfied when Emily laughs because something deep in his chest always wants to make her happy. "Don't let Sammy come down if he wakes up, okay?"

"I'm sure we've got it covered," Emily promises, before leaning up to kiss Ben on the cheek - just lightly. He's sure he's tomato red by the time the brief touch ends, but it's worth it. "Night, Ben."

"Night, Emily," he almost manages to avoid stuttering - like a boss - before tripping over his feet on the way off the porch. He touches a hand to his cheek all the way to his car, grinning like a fool and not caring who sees.

Emily goes back inside, shuts out the dark, and turns on the radio.


End file.
